Mastercard and Visa set Multilateral Interchange Fees (known as MIFs) that form part of the regular service charges that businesses pay to their banks.
UK businesses are being unlawfully overcharged for the MIFs they pay to accept card payments as merchants.
The English Courts have recently delivered an important judgment confirming that Mastercard and Visa set their MIFs in an unlawful way, which has resulted in significant overcharges to merchants over a number of years.
KP Law is seeking UK businesses to join our claim against Mastercard and Visa in relation to these overcharges. This includes new claims in relation to corporate card transactions that are not covered by previous MIF judgments or settlements.
You will be eligible to join the claim if your company had an average annual turnover of £100 million or more between 2016-2019 and accepted Visa and Mastercard card payments in the UK during the last six years.
The amount of damages you are entitled to recover will be calculated by reference to a percentage of all transactions your business accepted with Mastercard and Visa cards, within the UK, over the past six years.
Our initial analysis indicates that a number of claimants could have multi-million pound claims, or even higher.
KP Law is acting on a No Win No Fee basis under a Damages Based Agreement (DBA), under which our fees are only payable if you win or settle your claim, and are calculated as a percentage of the damages you receive plus expenses. We will also take out appropriate insurance (known as ‘after the event’ insurance) to cover any potential liability for adverse legal costs in the unlikely event we do not achieve a successful outcome. Therefore, so long as you comply with the terms of your DBA, your business will not have to pay anything should the claim not be successful.
KP Law is one of the most experienced group litigation law firms in England and Wales, focusing exclusively on claimant group actions. KP Law’s lawyers have experience representing hundreds of thousands of clients, on a collective basis, in bringing large corporations to account for wrongdoing.
Once you have joined our claim, we will instruct quantification analysts to identify your card transactions and assess the amount of damages you could claim. We also work closely with third-party claims managers, Claims.com, to simplify the process for you to claim potential compensation.
FAQs about the Mastercard & Visa Group Action
We are happy to assist in reviewing relevant partnership or sponsorship agreements to the extent there is a perceived legal risk in joining the claim. Civil litigation between commercial counterparties is not unusual and often commercial relationships are broader and stronger than any individual legal dispute. Ultimately, however, any decision about how to proceed will be a judgment call for your business.
The upfront time investment (and indeed the time investment throughout the litigation) by you and your business ought to be minimal. We and our partners make the onboarding process as smooth as possible for you. We have done this many times. We’ll introduce you to quantum experts who will take you through the information they need to calculate your claim and help you to request Mastercard and Visa card sales data from your Merchant Services Provider(s).
Even if you have signed a settlement agreement, it is possible that it did not apply to all claims that you might have. The settlement may also apply differently to the various entities within your corporate group (given that this is a UK claim). We recommend a detailed check of your settlement agreement to see if you are permitted to join this claim.
A claim of this scale generally requires any business to instruct external counsel due to its size and complexity. We are experts in running claims of this kind. We manage the claim for you from start to finish and you will not have to pay us anything unless your claim is successful, enabling your in-house team to focus on other areas of your business.
In joining our claimant group, you will benefit not only from our expertise but from costs, scaling and other efficiency savings. Joining our claimant group now gives you greater leverage and bargaining power with Visa/Mastercard. A standalone claim is unlikely to have the same cost/benefit value (if viable at all). There may also be a number of procedural obstacles to pursuing a standalone claim further in the future (including limitation issues and the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s willingness to hear additional claims on issues that have already been determined).
Standing up for justice, our solicitors are pursuing claims against the affected claimants just like you.
You will only pay fees if your case is successful.*
Our team has extensive experience in claims and is committed to achieving the best outcome for you.
We are ready to take on large, deep-pocket companies that other law firms shy away from.
Together, let’s hold Mastercard & Visa accountable and secure the compensation you deserve.
*Subject to the terms and conditions of your retainer with us